Sad Cypress releases haunting new single ahead of upcoming EP

A deeply personal new single from Cardiff-based songwriter Sad Cypress offers a first glimpse into her upcoming EP, inspired by storytelling, mysticism and the city’s creative underground.

The Other Side was released on the 8 May 2026, ahead of the Princess of Cups EP on the 3 June.

Sad Cypress is the alter ego of songwriter and writer Sophie Cartmell. The newest single was written on 8-track when she was just 18, and is the first complete song she ever finished.

Re-recorded for her new EP, it is “a very personal song” that reflects her introverted younger self, and her plaintive and unsteady growth into her full artist form.

Cartmell explains: “It’s about being stuck inside myself, sensing that the way out was inward but being too afraid to.”

“I didn’t even really understand what I was singing about until a long time later. I had a difficult time expressing myself, with music as my only outlet, something I’m sure many musicians have experienced.”

Haunting and moving, the song is backed by a singular guitar motif, Sad Cypress’s voice rippling with a wistful sense of longing and artistic layers.

The single is the first taste of her new EP, Princess of Cups, and introduces a narrative written by Cartmelll set in Cardiff’s stunning Waterloo gardens.

The concept is revealed in a full story she has written to accompany the Princess of Cups EP.

Cartmell added: “It’s a collaboration across time.

“It’s built around a song I wrote at eighteen and a story I wrote decades later using parts work methods. The teenage song named the problem. The magical realism story is about the transition.

“The remaining songs gathered around that arc on their own.”

Crafting indie folk music with her heart on her sleeve, Cartmell’s narrative arc for the EP is framed in the wider “tapestry” of her persona.

Sad Cypress is a fallen goddess, who wanders the Earth, spinning her myriad experiences of trauma and heartbreak into a tapestry of interweaving melodies and mystic revelations.

Undeniably unique, audiences have compared her to the likes of PJ Harvey, Kate Bush and Kristin Hersh.

As much an art and literature project as a musical one, Sad Cypress is exploring the idea of creating an EP in real time inspired by a Cardiff DIY collective Wheel of Fortune Records.

Seeking to forge a deeper connection to her listeners, she has stepped away from Spotify and now uses Welsh streaming platform Mixxl, as well as Bandcamp.

She also releases her music alongside a hand printed zine containing her story and a QR code to the music that accompanies it.

Based in Cardiff, Sad Cypress has played shows across south Wales and south west England, with performance highlights including headlining Folk At The Moon at The Moon in Cardiff, a set at Devauden Festival and a successful Oxfam fundraiser at The Mount Without in Bristol.

To find out more and listen to the newest track, The Other Side, visit Sad Cypress’ site here.